Comments Off on Bold, monolithic stone home in India reveals its secret gardens

Mumbai-based Spasm Design recently unveiled a bold, monolithic home made from Dhrangadhra stone. The House of Secret Gardens features a cross-shaped layout with various access points to the exterior spaces, which feature vibrant greenery and an elevated rooftop garden . Dhrangadhra stone is a common building material in Ahmedabad that has been used for centuries due to its strong insulative qualities. The stone, which is found in local quarries, keeps homes warm in the winter months and cool during the searing hot summers. Additionally, the stone walls and floors help reduce reflected glare on the interior. Related: This home is a small timber cottage on the inside and an automated concrete monolith on the outside The living space is located in the center of the home. From there, multiple walkways lead to other rooms, including the kitchen, office and bedrooms. The architects used the unique layout to connect the home to its surroundings and installed transparent walls and open spaces to provide access to the outdoors. The result is a breezy home that seamlessly links to the outdoors. Several cutouts and windows throughout the home allow for optimal air ventilation. Because the light in Ahmedabad can be harsh, slatted skylights were included to filter in the sunlight . The interior rooms are clad in lime plaster with a texture similar to the exterior Dhrangadhra stone walls. The monolithic aesthetic is accented with timber statement walls and timber-clad ceilings. An abundance of courtyards and gardens add greenery while aiding the home’s passive climate control . Air moves through the courtyards and into the interiors, cooling off the living spaces. Several passages lead to the lush courtyards. Designed to mature over the years, the green lawn is decorated with trees and bushes. The home also features an extended pond and a stairwell that leads up to the impressive rooftop garden . + Spasm Design Via Archdaily Photography by Umang Shah , Photographix , Edmund Sumner via Spasm Design

Comments Off on Belgian supermarket unveils plan to sell food grown on their own rooftop garden

A Belgian supermarket has unveiled plans to sell produce that will be about as local as it gets. The Boondael branch of the Delhaize supermarket chain in Ixelles, Belgium plans to start selling vegetables grown in a garden and greenhouse on the roof of their building starting in the summer of 2017. 320 square meters of rooftop space, or around 3,444 square feet, will be devoted to growing produce. Half of that space will be set aside for a greenhouse and half will allow the store to cultivate vegetables in open air. When the weather doesn’t permit use of the open air space, the store can continue growing produce in the greenhouse. The produce grow on the supermarket’s rooftop will be sold at a cheaper price than the organic produce they offer. Related: ‘Kinetic’ rooftop garden uses pallets and plants to create the illusion of movement Although ” in theory ” the produce they grow could be described as organic, technically the produce won’t receive the organic label as it is “not cultivated directly in natural soil but on a rooftop,” according to the supermarket. Delhaize hopes schools and the community will get in on the action through visits and participation. Brussels Minister for the Environment Céline Fremault told The Brussels Times, “Developing healthy, quality vegetables, based upon short cycles, is one of the challenges for the Brussels region…If everyone embraces the idea, as Delhaize has done, we will attain our target of 30 percent of fruit and vegetable production through urban agriculture, way before 2035, as is currently planned.” If all goes as planned, Delhaize will be the ” first food store in Belgium ” to grow their own produce on their rooftop. The pilot project will help Delhaize evaluate how the idea works – they don’t yet know how much product they’ll be able to grow – and if a rooftop garden can be implemented at other stores. Via RTBF and The Brussels Times Images via Delhaize and Pixabay